SUNY News Release: SUNY and One Love Foundation Team Up for “Yards for Yeardley”
Published:
Monday, April 9, 2018 - 11:24
SUNY and One Love Foundation Team Up for “Yards for Yeardley”
Events on 26 SUNY Campuses Support One Love’s Mission to End Relationship Abuse through Awareness and Education
Campuses Will Work Together to Travel Nearly 50 Million Yards, the Equivalent of Traveling Once Around the World
For Immediate Release: Friday, April 6, 2018
Contact: Holly Liapis; Holly.Liapis@suny.edu; 518-320-1311
Albany – The State University of New York and One Love Foundation will partner to support “Yards for Yeardley” events at 26 SUNY campuses during the month of April through SUNY System’s “Around the World for Yeardley” campaign. Events are designed to raise awareness and provide education to end relationship abuse.
According to the One Love Foundation, one in three women and one in four men experience a violent relationship in their lifetime. Yards for Yeardley’s mission is to raise community awareness and activism surrounding relationship abuse through education and fostering dialogue between young people and their peers about warning signs of unhealthy relationships.
“SUNY “Yards for Yeardley” campus events are driven by our students, which is a testament to their commitment to end relationship abuse and protect their fellow students and people in their local communities,” said SUNY Chancellor Kristina M. Johnson. “On behalf of the SUNY family, I am pleased to support this program, which is by far the largest of its kind in the nation, to help incite lasting change.”
“SUNY is a model partner for One Love, bringing important conversations about healthy relationships to their campuses and communities,” said Katie Hood, CEO of One Love. “Around the World for Yeardley is one of our most ambitious community-driven campaigns to date, and we know SUNY will lead this effort proudly. We would like to thank Chancellor Johnson and the SUNY students and administrators for their continuous dedication to our mission to educate young people about healthy and unhealthy relationships and galvanize them as leaders of change.”
Created by three women on the Boston College and University of Virginia lacrosse teams in 2014, ‘Yards for Yeardley’ honors Yeardley Love who was abused and killed by her former romantic partner just weeks before her graduation. The initiative is run by the organization One Love, which was founded in 2010 to honor Yeardley and ensure everyone understands the difference between a healthy and unhealthy relationship.
“The SUNY Yards for Yeardley program is student-led, and while thousands of SUNY community members will participate directly, many more will learn about the risks of dating violence and steps we can each take to foster healthy relationships,” said Joseph Storch, Associate Counsel and Principal Investigator of the SUNY Violence Prevention Project. “We are deeply grateful to our SUNY campuses, the One Love Foundation, and the New York Jets for their support of this program and our mutual goal of ending dating violence on campus and in the community.”
Last year, 10 participating SUNY Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) campuses reached a total of over 25 million yards, this year campuses will work together toward a goal of nearly 50 million yards, the equivalent of traveling once around the world. For campuses meeting site goals, One Love Foundation, through its partnership with the New York Jets, will give two tickets for a game this season, and six student leaders from the campus that totals the most number of yards per student will receive tickets to watch a game from a suite.
SUNY campuses participating this year include: Alfred State College, Binghamton University, College at Brockport, Buffalo State, SUNY Canton, Corning Community College, SUNY Cortland, Empire State College, Erie Community College, Farmingdale State College, Fashion Institute of Technology, SUNY Fredonia, SUNY Geneseo, Herkimer Community College, Maritime College, Monroe Community College, SUNY New Paltz, North Country Community College, SUNY Oneonta, SUNY Oswego, SUNY Plattsburgh, SUNY Polytechnic Institute (Utica), SUNY Potsdam, Purchase College, Stony Brook University, and Tompkins Cortland Community College. Visit campus websites to learn more about specific activities taking place.
About The State University of New York
The State University of New York is the largest comprehensive system of higher education in the United States, with 64 college and university campuses located within 30 miles of every home, school, and business in the state. In 2015–16, SUNY served nearly 1.3 million students, including nearly 600,000 in credit-bearing courses and programs and more than 700,000 through continuing education and community outreach programs. SUNY students and faculty across the state make significant contributions to research and discovery, resulting in nearly $1 billion of externally sponsored activity each year. There are 3 million SUNY alumni worldwide, and one in three New Yorkers with a college degree is a SUNY alum. To learn more about how SUNY creates opportunity, visit www.suny.edu.
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